USC
University of Southern California
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Undergraduate Degrees

American Studies and Ethnicity offers challenging and diverse opportunities to study the peoples, cultures and institutions of the United States in interdisciplinary courses. Combining the study of history with literature, the arts and the social sciences, American Studies and Ethnicity seeks to bring together these various disciplines and modes of inquiry in a common project: the effort to understand the diverse peoples and cultures that have composed the United States and to provide critical perspectives on the words, deeds, myths and material practices that have shaped this country in its full regional, ethnic, class and gender diversity. An education in American Studies and Ethnicity will be particularly appropriate for students interested in pursuing careers in law, journalism, government, foreign service, social work, international business, public administration and education.

American Studies and Ethnicity is administered by an executive committee comprising the chair, directors of the four majors and other faculty members. In addition to the college academic advisor, the directors of the majors serve as advisors to majors and minors, providing, in conjunction with the sequence of courses, the opportunity for students to undertake an interdisciplinary concentration under close faculty supervision. It is recommended that students meet with the appropriate major director to plan a coherent set of courses to fulfill the major or minor requirements.

Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity

Program Major Requirements
Ten courses in American Studies and Ethnicity or courses certified for American Studies and Ethnicity credit are required. The 10 courses must be distributed as follows: the three core requirement courses of AMST 200, AMST 350 and AMST 498; one course from each of the following three lists: History, Literature and Culture, and Social and Political Issues; and additional elective courses for a total of 16 units chosen from the courses certified in American Studies and Ethnicity at the 300 level or above.

Core requirements Units
AMST 200Introduction to American Studies and Ethnicity4
AMST 350Junior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity: Theories and Methods4
AMST 498*Senior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity4

*Honors students will substitute AMST 492 Research Methods in American Studies and Ethnicity.

200/300/400-level required courses Units
One course from each of the following categories:
History
AMST 250The African Diaspora4
AMST 373History of the Mexican American4
AMST 378Introduction to Asian American History4
AMST 379Arabs in America4
HIST 200The American Experience4
HIST 354Mexican Migration to the United States4
HIST 355The African-American Experience4
HIST 380American Popular Culture4
HIST 457The American West4
HIST 458History of California4

Literature and Culture
AHIS 365African American Art4
AHIS 465Studies in American Art4
AHIS 475Blackness in American Visual Culture4
AMST 285African American Popular Culture4
AMST 377Legacies of Viet Nam4
AMST 385African American Culture and Society4
AMST 448Chicano and Latino Literature4
AMST 449Asian American Literature4
COMM 458Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment and the Arts4
ENGL 263American Literature4
ENGL 392Visual and Popular Culture4
ENGL 442American Literature, 1920 to the Present4
ENGL 445The Literatures of America: Cross-Cultural Perspectives4
ENGL 446African-American Poetry and Drama4
REL 336Re-viewing Religion in Asian America4
REL 483Religion and Popular Culture in the United States4

Social and Political Issues
AMST 202Interethnic Diversity in the West4
AMST 206The Politics and Culture of the 1960s4
AMST 220The Making of Asian America4
AMST 274Exploring Ethnicity through Film4
AMST 285African American Popular Culture4
AMST 301America, the Frontier, and the New West4
AMST 320Social Construction of Race and Citizenship4
AMST 357Latino Social Movements4
AMST 365Leadership in the Community — Internship4
AMST 395African American Humor and Culture4
AMST 446Cultural Circuits in the Americas4
AMST 466The Psychology of African Americans4
ANTH 240Collective Identity and Political Violence: Representing 9/114
GEOG 340Latino L.A.4
GEOG 350Race and Environmentalism4
JOUR 466People of Color and the News Media4
POSC 320Urban Politics4
POSC 328Asian American Politics4
POSC 421Ethnic Politics4
POSC 424Political Participation and American Diversity4
POSC 427Black Politics in the American Political System4
POSC 428Latino Politics4
PSYC 462Minority Mental Health4
REL 333Religion in the Borderlands4
SOCI 342Race Relations4
SOCI 355Immigrants in the United States4
SOCI 356Mexican Immigrants in a Diverse Society4
SOCI 366Chicana and Latina Experiences4
SOCI 375Asian Americans: Ethnic Identity4
SOCI 376Contemporary Issues in Asian American Communities4
SOCI 432Racial and Ethnic Relations in a Global Society4

upper division elective courses Units
Additional courses for a total of 16 units from the lists above or below, 300 level or higher. No more than two total courses in the major may be taken outside the college.
AMST 490xDirected Research2-8, max 8
AMST 493Senior Honors Thesis in American Studies and Ethnicity4
AMST 499Special Topics2-4, max 8